After irrigating, mowing, weeding, fertilizing, and aerating your lawn, it’s now looking lush and green. But why does it still look messy even with regular maintenance? If you want to make it look more beautiful, it will take more than just these tasks.
To achieve a well-manicured lawn, you can’t just grab your lawnmower and take it for a whirl. You will need to know how to properly mow your yard to get that neat and healthy-looking lawn.
Not only will these produce an attractive and manicured lawn, but it will also keep your grass healthy and help it grow densely. The way you shape and mow your lawn will also prevent weeds from returning or overcrowding your grass.
If you’re tired of knee-high or messy grass, take a look at some of the ways you can keep a fantastic-looking manicured lawn.
What is a Manicured Lawn?
A manicured lawn is simply a yard, garden, or park that has short and neatly cut grass. Most people prefer having a well-manicured lawn because it increases the curb appeal and looks attractive.
I personally feel that a manicured lawn also looks and feels comfortable. There are no harsh protruding weeds, and the grass feels softer to sit on - whether it feels or maybe just looks that way.
Benefits of having a Well-Manicured Lawn
If you think that having a well-manicured lawn is just for the curb appeal or attractiveness of your yard - it’s not. Here are some of the benefits of having a well-maintained and manicured lawn:
Compared to lawns with unkempt grass, a manicured lawn can absorb more gallons of rainwater and reduce runoff to storm sewers.
A well-manicured lawn can help keep a home cooler since it reduces surface temperatures.
It looks aesthetically-pleasing and helps increase the value of properties.
Since manicured lawns have better water absorption, they require less irrigation. If you manually irrigate, you can just water to a depth of 1 to 1.5 inches during the morning once a week.
Some manicured lawns have recycled grass clippings that are left to decompose on the lawn. It will then store the carbon dioxide in the soil, which is good for the environment.
How To Your Lawn Well-Manicured
Remove weeds
Before you start mowing, it is important to get rid of the weeds invading your turf. There are three simple ways you can get rid of weeds, so grab your gloves and let’s unearth these pesky plants.
Pulling it by hand: This is a great but hard way to get rid of weeds. To ensure that you permanently remove the weed, you need to take it from the roots. This is important, especially if you have weeds such as dandelions, which have deep roots.
Using a hoe: To efficiently remove the weed from its roots, you can use a hoe to dig around the stem, which will loosen the soil. This will make it easier for you to remove the weed properly.
Applying herbicides: Since manually removing each weed is time-consuming, weed-infested lawns may want to use chemicals to kill these pesky plants.
But since it is not an environmentally-friendly solution, it should be the least preferred method. Only use herbicides when you have run out of options or if it is deemed necessary. You should also know that these may kill current weeds but will not prevent them from growing back unless applied sufficiently.
Have a mowing pattern
To make your lawn look professionally manicured, you need to find a mowing pattern. If you miss a spot or mow randomly, then it would produce an unsightly lawn. Here are some patterns you can try:
Striped Pattern
Circular Pattern
S-Curve or Wave Pattern
Checkerboard Pattern
Arch Pattern
Diamond Pattern
Find the best time to mow
If you want your yard to look neat and healthy, you should know the best time to mow it. This will also help prevent weeds, ensure lawn quality, and lessen the chances of contracting lawn diseases.
The best time to mow your lawn is when the sun is down, during the evening. The roots will maintain their moisture and the blades are long. After mowing, this will also give the grass more than 12 hours to heal in shade and out of the harsh sun.
Don’t mow when it’s wet or moist
Most people tend to think that mowing is a morning chore. After a long night’s rest, they go out and mow the lawn while waiting for breakfast to get ready. Unfortunately, you shouldn’t mow when the grass still has morning dew or is recently watered.
When grass is wet, it makes it hard to cut it evenly. This will also affect your lawnmower or other cutting equipment since wet grass clippings will stick together and get trapped in it. If ever these wet grass clippings are left on the yard, it would prevent the grass beneath from getting its necessary air and sunlight.
In addition, you might find bare spots since grass easily tears from the ground when it is wet. There is also a risk of getting injured since the lawn will be slippery.
Maintain your mower blades’ sharpness
If you want to get a nicely-cut lawn, your mower blades should be sharp. Having sharp blades will give you a clean slice of the leaf blade, which will also lessen the stress on the grass. In addition, dull blades increase fuel consumption by around 20% to 30%.
To sharpen a blade, here’s what you need to do:
Know how much to cut and
how often to mow
To achieve that well-manicured look, you need the right cut and how often to mow it. For the right height, you can follow the one-third rule, which is to not cut more than one-third of the blade. For example, if you want to cut your grass down to two inches, you should mow it before it reaches three inches. This way, you will keep your grass healthy and produce small clippings that can be left in the yard.
For the frequency, it will depend on how fast your grass grows. If you follow the one-third rule, you can find out how often you should mow. For example, take the same situation above, if it grows an inch in three days, then you have to mow every three days.
In the event that you weren’t able to mow frequently or have let your grass grow too tall, you should raise your lawnmower to its highest height when mowing. For the rest of the grass, you can cut it after a few hours or the next day, with the mower at a lower height. After, you can decide whether to keep the clippings or collect them.